A Guard Dog
by Unluckyfrank1
Summary: Bandog and Trigger form an unlikely friendship. A bitter asshole AWACS controller and a laid back idiot pilot go well together apparently. Rated T for lots of Swearing' (especially on Bandog's part)
1. Chapter 1

**Few things to note before you read**

**1). I really liked Bandog, so I felt compelled to right a chill non-combat scenario that doesn't portray him as a ****_complete _****ass (he's still a dick in this fic, but can be somewhat nice when he feels like it).**

**2). My portrayal of Trigger might be different from most. I decided to make him a very chill dude and kinda uncaring (and also kind of an idiot), contrasting with the 2 other fics I've read that featured him. I also sort of base Trigger's personality off my general feelings I had toward certain events in the game (Ex: I didn't give a damn about Spare Squadron, so naturally, Trigger also doesn't care)**

**3). As you probably expected there's going to be some headcanon in regards Bandog, ya know to flesh him out a little. **

**So enjoy a nice fic about Bandog and Trigger just talking**

**o-o-o-o-o**

Bandog and Trigger.

Location: 444 Air Base, Zapland

Time: 2200 July 12, 2019

Bandog really needed to smoke.

Currently he was in the middle of a Poker game with a few guards and convicts. He was never any good, and the amount of money he's been losing proved it.

Yet despite this, poker was one of his favorite pastimes. The reason for this is actually pretty straightforward: There was barely any shit to do.

Contrary to popular belief, the 444th Air Base was (aside from when the princess spoke) rather quite most of the time.

It's actually pretty common to see prisoners walking freely around the base, all hours of the day. This was due to the guards being rather crappy at their jobs. Unless a prisoner stepped outside the base, they didn't give a shit what they did. Hence why Bandog and the guys were playing poker in middle of the Mess Hall late at night. Really the Guards just enforced the rules whenever they felt like it.

Bandog stood up from his seat and began walking to the exit door.

"Leavin' already Guard Dog?" One of the prisoners taunted.

Bandog looked over his shoulder boredly "I'm gonna go take a smoke. Be back in a minute". The guys just shrugged and went back to their game.

The cool night air hit him as soon as he walked outside. He leaned against the wall and took out a cigarette and before he could reach for his lighter, he heard another person lean against the wall next to him. He looked over and saw Trigger staring at him.

"What are you doing up so late?" Trigger asked.

"I should asking that question" Bandog remarked, still fishing around for his lighter. He finally found it a began to light up his cigarette. He one to Trigger but he declined.

"You know that stuffs bad you" Trigger stated, with mock concern.

Bandog took a nice long puff before saying "I don't give a fuck".

Trigger expected that answer.

"Why the hell are you bothering me Convict?" Bandog asked with mild annoyance.

"I got bored so I started walking around the base…" Trigger shrugged. "I saw you here and…"

"And…?"

"Honestly. I don't know why I walked over to you" Trigger chuckled.

"Heh. Dumbass".

"I have been getting called that alot"

The two remained quite for a little while before Trigger attempted conversation again "So. Yesterday was pretty intense huh?".

"For you guys. I wasn't the one flying during a thunderstorm".

"You're telling me that you weren't just a little bit worried that Bandit would shoot me down?"

Bandog rolled his eyes "I knew you guys could handle it".

"Seriously?"

"Okay I knew _you_ could handle it".

"Aw Bandog. I'm flattered" Trigger grinned.

Bandog glared at him "Shut up".

From the way Wiseman and his crew were talking, that Bandit Trigger fought was skilled as hell. Apparently very few would have survived that encounter but Trigger did. Bandog kind of respected him for that.

Not that he would admit it of course.

Trigger decided to sit down on the ground and lean back "So how did you end up as AWACS for 444th anyways?".

"Why would you like to know?"

"Just curious. I doubt Osea would just take any AWACS controller away from their regular duties to be in charge of a bunch of criminals".

"Well it's none of your damn business"

"Okay then. Well tell me about yourself".

"What are we, on a date or some shit? The fuck do you wanna know about my private life all of a sudden?"

"Just want to get know my overseer".

"Hmph"

"Cmon. I'll go first! My name is-"

"I already know your name dumbass. It's on file".

"Oh yeah. Well. I was born in Oured. I love pizza rolls. I like jets. Video Games. Movies. Guns. Transformers. Anime. Female workout videos and-"

"Oh. My. God. Why don't you just be quiet like you are on missions?"

"I like to focus while I'm flying. Sign of a true Ace pilot".

"Your not gonna leave me alone are you?"

"Not until you open up a little bud".

Bandog tossed his cigarette on the ground and crossed his arms "I don't even know where to fucking start…".

"Well, where were you born? That should be a simply enough question to answer".

"...San Loma"

Trigger looked up at Bandog, surprised "San Loma? Your Emmerian?".

Bandog growled "Yes".

Trigger looked away awkwardly "Oh. Damn. Huh."

Bandog raised a brow "What?"

"Oh nothing. I just thought Emmerians we're supposed to be, ya know, _nice._

"Fucking stereotype. I mean...it's a _good_ stereotype, but one I don't live up to. Unfortunately".

"Hm. So how is it?

"The hell do you mean?".

"I mean what was the country like? I've never been to Emmeria".

"...It was nice".

Trigger quickly realized that Bandog didn't really open up a lot. More questions were necessary.

"Why did you leave Emmeria?".

"My father got a job at a mining corporation that required him to move to Osea. So my family, aside from my brother, moved. I was ten when this happened".

"Why didn't your brother come with you? You got any other siblings".

"He was was already in his twenties and serving in the Emmeria Armed Forces by the time we decided to move. And yes I also had a little brother".

Trigger didn't like the sound of that "Had?"

"I don't want to talk about it" Bandog glared.

"Oh shit, sorry"

"It's fine".

That made everything awkward for a few minutes.

Trigger coughed a little a decided to change the subject "You like Osea?"

"I've lived in Osea for over twenty years idiot".

"Doesn't mean you have to necessarily like the country you've lived in for most of your life".

"Eh. It's decent. To be honest I've traveled to so many different countries and let me tell you, the same shit stain people are everywhere. All over the world".

Trigger nodded his head in agreement "Alright thent". Trigger stretched a little "So where in Osea did your family move?".

"For the first couple of years it was Oured. Then my Dad got relocated to Cranston".

"You sure did move a lot. Was it hard?"

"Nah. Not really. Dad made a point about not getting to connected to places or material objects. Plus I never made a lot of friends so I never felt like I was leaving something behind".

"I'm assuming the third move was last?".

"For my family, yeah. Obviously I moved when I became an adult…".

Suddenly a Convict and Guard walked up to them carrying a crate of beers.

"Yo Trigger!" Yelled the Convict. "Great job on that thunderstorm shit! We got these for you!"

The guard dropped the crate of beers in front of Trigger.

"Uh. Thanks man." Trigger said scratching the back of his head.

"Don't mention it!" The very drunk Guard exclaimed. The two walked away laughing from the pair.

Trigger looked up at Bandog "Does this happen a lot?

Bandog smirked "Yeah. I gave a couple of guards copies of the key for McKinsey's secret beer stash".

"Wow. How'd you manage to pull that off?"

"That's classified" Bandog chuckled. He decided to sit down on the ground along with Trigger and took a beer out of the crate. Trigger did the same and they both began to drink.

"So what do you think of McKinsey?" Trigger asked while sipping his beer.

"He's a piece of shit. What else is there to say?".

"How can you stand working for that bastard".

"You learn to tune off his bullshit after awhile. Whenever he's talking, most of the time we treat it as background noise".

"You seem to love enforcing his rules".

"Only in the skies. Only in the skies" Bandog took a large gulp of beer before letting out a nice huge belch. "Ah. You smell that?".

"Yuck. I bet you're really popular with the ladies".

"My ex found me pretty charming"

"You had a girlfriend?"

"Yes. Unlike you I'm actually attractive".

"Oh ha ha" Trigger crushed his can and grabbed another beer. "What was she like?"

Bandog grimaced "She was smart, funny, a great musician…"

"The relationship ended badly didn't it".

Bandog glared at him again "How the fuck do you know?".

"Bandog, your face is a dead giveaway".

"Hmph".

"So what happened?"

"None of your damn business".

Trigger shrugged and drank his other beer "You miss Champ?"

"Hell no. Do you?"

"Nope".

"Then why the fuck did you ask?"

"Just wanted to know if you cared".

"Ugh"

"Do you like anybody here?"

"Eh. Not really, I don't like making connections with people. Full Band is cool I guess. And I thought High Roller was okay. Tabloid is entertaining. And you're alright too. I guess. Everybody else I don't give a shit about. Especially Count".

"I'm touched. What's wrong with Count though?"

Bandog proceeded to give Trigger an _Are you fucking kidding me_ look.

"Okay I'll admit. Count is a bit of a douchebag". Trigger admitted.

"Bit?"

"Okay. A lot of a douchebag".

"I don't even know if your grammar was correct there…"

"English was always my worst subject".

"That much is fucking obvious".

"Why are you always such a dick to people?"

"I help try to run a penal unit. Are you seriously asking me that?".

"Hm. Point taken. So does Count actually lie about his kills?".

"Oh big time. Everybody knows it. He's so full of crap I can smell him from a mile away".

"Why do you think he does it?".

"So people don't realize how crappy of pilot he truly is".

"I think he flies fine"

"Course you do".

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"The way you look at Count. Looks to me like your trying to hide something. You think about him while you're in solitary?" Bandog chuckled.

Trigger flipped him off "Screw you".

"You mean Count? Sure go ahead".

Trigger shook his and finished his second beer.

"This stuff taste like shit" Trigger said while reaching for another beer.

"Meh. I've had worse".

"Really? This stuff is pretty horrible".

"Trust me. You've haven't tasted horrible until you've had a fucking Yuktobanian beer. I've tried all there brands and they're ass". Bandog crushed his can and reached for another.

The two remained silent while they looked up at the night sky. Every now and then one of the lights from the base would flicker on and off. For some reason watching bugs fly around the lights was entertaining.

Bandog glanced over at Trigger "Since you asked me. Do you care about any of your squadmates?".

Trigger put his hand on his chin and thought for a second "To be honest Bandog. No, I don't. Well, except, maybe, Count".

"Well why's that?".

"I've only known you guys for like, what, a little under a month?". Trigger spit on the ground next to him and shook his head. "Plus they're all a bunch of criminals, I don't care what to happens to them. By hey, maybe that'll change the longer I'm here".

"Hm. A little hypocritical don't you think? Being the one who killed Harling".

"I didn't do it on purpose".

"So you do admit it. Course I remember you were denying it left and right at your court hearing".

"Eh. To be fair it all happened so fast, It took a while to process it".

"So you're saying you _accidentally_ killed the Harling".

"What? You don't believe me?" Trigger questioned with a frown.

"Never said that. It's definitely possible. You don't look like a murderer…"

"Damn right I don't. I'm gorgeous".

"But then again there are a bunch of guys here that don't look like murderers, but are".

Trigger looked at Bandog disgusted "How many murderers are on this base?".

"I stopped keeping track at around thirty".

"Ugh".

"We got all kinds of scum here. Murderers, Robbers, smugglers, a couple of rapists...Hell we even had a Child Molester here".

"What happened to him?"

"I told everyone in the base his crime. He was found dead in his cell a couple days later".

"Good riddance. Who knew the military could have all these psychos".

"Bastards infect every corner of society. Nowhere is safe. Best remember that".

Trigger nodded and changed the subject again "How's your parents?"

"You got a lot of fucking questions".

"Hey, you're the one answering them".

Bandog scowled "My father's is in some retirement home or some shit and my mother died of a heart attack years ago".

"Sorry about that".

"Don't be. I'm glad that bitch is dead".

Trigger looked mildly surprised at that "Mommy issues?".

"Let's just say a drug addiction made for a pretty unpleasant home life".

"Enough said".

"Yeah. Enough said". Bandog stared at his hands. "You didn't seem upset when you were found guilty. Or when you were transferred to this base".

"Yeah so?".

"So I'm wondering why that is?".

Trigger shrugged "I just accepted my fate. I killed Harling, one of the most revered presidents in history, and no one believed it was a mistake. I knew going in that fighting it was hopeless".

"And the fact you were being sent to an expendable unit didn't bother you at all?" Bandog asked confused.

"I still get to fly. I say that's a good thing" Trigger smirked.

"You're a strange man Trigger".

"You should see me at parties". Trigger laid down on the ground and put his hands behind his head. "So tell me about your ex".

"Didn't I say that was none of you fucking business". Bandog snarled.

"You did, you did. But c'mon man, I promise I won't judge".

Bandog sighed and took another swig of beer "Ugh. What the hell, fine I'll tell you what went down. But you tell anyone and I'll kill you. We clear?".

"Crystal"

"Hmph. Alright so in so a little bit before I left to join the Air Force I met this chick named Anne..."

"Go on"

"She was a coffee shop barista. I found her attractive so, naturally being the confident guy I am, I ask her out".

"Your _such_ a go getter man".

"Shut the fuck up. Anyways, the date goes well. We go out, that date goes well. Then again, goes well. We do this for awhile and before we know it, we're dating".

"Typical relationship progression".

"Yeah. So things are going strong for about 6 months. She likes me I like her. Things are all good".

"This is where the bad stuff happens right? I wanna hear about the bad stuff".

"I getting to it, shut the hell up. So everything's going well, I'm super happy. Happier than I've ever been. Then my friend John calls me one day…"

"What did he say?".

"He calls me up and tells me he saw Anne walking out of a movie theater with another dude. Now when he tells me this I'm sitting there thinking it must just be a friend or something, not what my friend's making it sound like".

"But…?"

"It was what it fucking sounded like".

"How'd you find out for sure?".

"My friend was having a party at his beach house. Me and Anne went. A few hours pass and I was getting hammered, totally drunk, fucked up. I started to go look for Anne because I want to squeeze her breasts…".

Trigger laughed.

"I was drunk okay. Anyways, while searching for her, I open up the door to one of the guest rooms and guess what I saw?"

"Two people playing checkers?"

"Ha ha ha, fuck you. No. I walk in to see my girlfriend on her knees, in front of a dude's...".

"Oh shit".

"That wasn't the worst part. There were 2 other dudes in there and money on the floor. Apparently she was just selling BJs to random guys at the party".

"Jesus Christ what a bitch.."

"Now when I saw all this I immediately grabbed the guy and slammed him to the ground. Like, I beat this shit out this guy, I wasn't holding back at all". Bandog threw his unfinished can at a fence. "Of course with all the noise I was making, and the guy screaming for me to stop, a crowd gathered around the door".

"Nosey dicks"

"I finish beating up the guy then I turn to Anne. I ask her what the goinhell asg on. She proceeds to tell me that while we were dating, for a little side money she would give other men "favors".

"That's messed up man. Why was she even dating you then?".

"What do fucking think? She was mooching off me to make double the cash….I kind of spoiled her. I was a dumbass".

"Doesn't give her the right to use you".

"Things just got uglier from there. We yelled back and forth for minutes on end before I up and left...the rest of night was a blur. I don't wanna talk about it".

Trigger could tell that Bandog was starting to get hammered and stopped him from grabbing another beer "I think you've had enough man.

Bandog snatched his hand away "Don't fucking touch me".

"Listen, sorry that happened to you".

"Pffft it was years ago. I'm over it. Mostly".

"Mostly?".

"You gotta understand all this happened a year after my little brother died".

"Shit man you had it rough".

"Yeah. After this happened I decided it was time to to get away from it all. I joined the Air Force. They deployed me on the other side of the country and for the first few years it was all good. I became an AWACS for a squadron and things were great".

"What? Did something else happen?".

"You asked me earlier why I end up at 444th. Well let me tell you something: I'm a Convict, just like the rest of you".

This actually surprised Trigger, but he soon smacked his face at how obvious this revelation was "Just what did you-"

"I stabbed one of my superiors 4 times" Bandog interrupted blankly.

"Oh. Well...why did you do that?".

"He called my mother a, in his own words, a crackhead bitch whore who deserved to die".

"I thought you hated her".

"It was more of a love-hate. Plus she's dead. Don't disrespect my fucking dead family". Bandog grabbed another beer, glaring at Trigger so he wouldn't attempt to stop him again. "After that happened, BOOM, I was sent here and rotted here for a year. When the war started 2 months ago, Osea turned our little military prison into a penal unit and I became the AWACS controller of Spare Squadron since I was the only one qualified..."

Bandog coughed a bit on his beer before continuing, "They weren't gonna send an innocent guy to handle this base after all. I also have the responsibility of making sure the prisoners-turned-AWACS operators don't screw anything up, considering they were given the bare minimum training".

"Shit. You learn something new everyday".

"That's when that fuck McKinsey came in. He treats me like shit. So naturally, I take my frustrations out on you guys" Bandog take yet another swig "Or at least threaten to. I've don't actually have the authority to send you guys to solitary. I just say it because it's fun...and because McKinsey sends me there a lot"

"He does?".

"So you honestly believe I'm just gonna stand there a let him treat me like I'm his bitch?"

"Wellll…."

"Fuck you".

Trigger raised his hands in defense "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I don't think I'd be able to control myself if I had to work with him everyday".

"You know, I actually tried to help keep everybody alive while they were in air when we started".

"Really, why'd you stop?"

"Because McKinsey was all like 'those convicts are expendable. Let them die. Mission comes first or else solitary for you Bandog'. Eventually I got sick of spending the a few nights in solitary after every mission. So stopped giving a damn about what happens to you guys".

"So after you let us refuel…"

"I got 4 days of fucking Solitary straight. Lucky me".

"Sorry about that" Trigger chuckled. "I've never seen you be this unprofessional before".

"It try to at least act somewhat decent while on the radio".

"Well you you certainly do a poor job bro"

Bandog just flipped him off and went back to drinking. They both continued to talk for about two hours until a Guard came by a told Bandog McKinsey wanted to see him.

"Ugh. Fine" Bandog got up along with Trigger. He turned began to walk to Mckinsey's office. "See you around Trigger".

Trigger gave him a thumbs up as the Guard escorted him back to his cell.

o-o-o-o-o

Bandog open the door to McKinsey's office "You wanted to see me?".

"No I wanted to leave you to your own god-damned devices" McKinsey said sarcastically.

Bandog rolled his eyes and sat down "Just what do you want old man?".

McKinsey sniffed the air "Is that alcohol I smell…"

"I, uh spilled, some rubbing alcohol…"

"Hmph. Words been spreading that one of the convicts has got his hands on something he shouldn't".

"Okay? Then just take it away from them. Simple as that" Bandog began to get up from his seat.

"Sit the hell back down" McKinsey ordered. Bandog compiled at sat down, eager to get out of this room.

"What this prisoner has is top secret plans to an Osean Strategy against Euresa".

Bandog crossed his arms. He knew exactly who he was talking about. Full Band had been bragging about finding some intel. _That idiot..._"So what do you want me to do about it".

"You find this person and bring them to me. They will be tried and punished. For all we know they could be an Erusea spy. Probably a hacker, that's the only way they could have gotten access to that top secret Intel".

Bandog didn't have to heart to tell McKinsey that the only reason Full Band found out was become some idiot wrote down his password or something.

Bandog resisted the urge to facepalm "Fine. I'll see what I can find out. Can I go now?".

"Not yet. If you find that this person is in the process of leaking this information in any way. You do what you have to do".

"I'm not understanding…"

McKinsey did a neck slice gesture.

"Colonel that's unconstitutional…."

"I don't give a damn. You see any threat of this information getting out, you eliminate them. Do you understand me? Or do you want me to convince the higher ups of some insubordination on your part..."

Bandog narrowed his eyes "No Sir".

"Good. Dismissed".

Bandog got up from his seat and headed for the door.

"Asshole" he said under his breath.

"What was that?!" McKinsey yelled.

"Heh. Nothing" Bandog smirked as he walked out the door. He headed back to his cell and thought about what he was gonna do next.

"_Alright, all I need to do is tell Full Band to stop being a fucking idiot and to keep his dumbass mouth shut. As long as he doesn't do something stupid everything should be fine"_

Right?

Right.

**o-o-o-o-o**

**Fun Fact: Trigger was in Spare for only a month (well, a month and 5 days). So I feel it's perfectly acceptable for me/Trigger not to gain a solid connection with any of the Spare members aside from Count (who we know for quite bit longer after disbanding: 5 Months).**

**Also I may make a continuation of this, depending on how it's received, detailing the events leading up to Faceless Soldier and maybe after as well (also don't expect Trigger to be particularly upset about Full Band, cause I certainly wasn't).**


	2. Chapter 2

**I've decided to continue this fic because: why the hell not, right?**

**Anyways, I've changed the timeframe on when this fic takes place. Originally this story took place between Pipeline Destruction and Faceless soldier, I've instead placed this right after First Contact. I did this because I wanted a longer time frame to work with before Faceless Soldier (15 Days). I have edited the first chapter to reflect this change (might take awhile to show tho).**

**Plus this allows me to show 3 Missions (Pipeline Destruction, Faceless Soldier, and Transfer Orders) from Bandog's point-of-view. Also I feel First Contact is when Bandog started to respect Trigger, so yeah.**

**So I hope y'all enjoy.**

**o-o-o-o-o**

Location: 444 Air Base, Zapland

Time: 1500 July 14, 2019

"Rise and Shine Bandog".

Bandog turned over in his bed as the Guard opened his cell.

"Ugh" Bandog groaned as the sun light hit his eyes. He proceeded to hide under his blanket, much to the annoyance of the guard.

"C'mon man. Don't make this harder than it has to be" The guard jangled his handcuffs to help motivate the prisoner.

Bandog scowled at the guard, but eventually got up.

He grabbed his head in pain "Shit, what time is it?".

"3:00 in the afternoon" the Guard stated.

"You couldn't have let me sleep for the whole day?".

"You need the exercise" the Guard smirked.

"Fuck off"

Bandog was escorted to the front door and was pushed outside to the courtyard. The door slammed shut behind him as Bandog shielded his eyes from the blinding daylight. He felt like complete ass. He should have taken Trigger's advice and layed off the beer.

He looked around the courtyard and saw the usual. Prisoners in all shapes and sizes just standing around, talking or doing some activity. Be it talking about the football game last night or playing some sport, the prisoners were keeping themselves occupied.

Everybody wanted out of here, but they all knew there was no hope and tried their hardest to make the best of it. Some we're more successful than others of course.

Bandog began to recall one prisoner who tried to hang himself with his bedsheets but failed. The rest of the prisoners, including Bandog, showed zero sympathy and mocked the guy until he transferred to a mental institution. That freak murdered his bunk mate while he was sleeping. Funny how things turn out huh?

Bandog eventually had enough of standing around and tried to see if Full Band was out here somewhere.

He walked around the courtyard for a bit until he saw a decent sized crowd gathered around something.

Bandog walked up to it and tapped on a guy's shoulder "The hell's going on?".

The guy turned around with a bored expression on his face "Nothing really, just a few guys playing cards…"

"Sounds mildly entertaining. Mind If I take a look?"

"Sure man. Go on ahead".

Bandog pushed a little through the crowd until he saw a group of guys sitting on the ground playing poker. This interested him. Poker _was _his favorite pastime after all.

Bandog went a little closer and realized that among the guys playing, was Trigger.

"_Huh. The dumbass knows how to play cards. Who knew?" _Bandog thought to himself as he watched Trigger play.

Trigger had a big stupid grin on his face as he looked at his cards. No poker face at all. He kept staring at his opponents with the grin and they were very obviously getting pissed off.

Sudden one of they guys slammed his cards on the ground and glared at Trigger.

"Tú engaño, hijo de puta!" the guy yelled in anger.

Trigger smiled at the guy, amused "What I do?".

The guy grabbed Trigger buy his shirt and pointed at his cards "Cambiaste tus cartas, follas!".

"Uh, no comprende, amigo" Trigger said grinning even more.

From what Bandog could understand, apparently Trigger had cheated and the guy was pissed.

Trigger looked the guy in the eye, smirked, and said "Gonna cry cause you lost bitch?"

Trigger was immediately thrown to ground and the guy began to punch to him the face repeatedly. This riled the crowd up and everybody started cheering them on.

Trigger pushed the guy off him and kicked him in the stomach. The guy clenched his stomach long enough for Trigger and get a good left hook in the side of the guys head, followed by a solid punch to the face. The guy blocked Trigger's third attempt to hit him and nailed Trigger in chest before landing blow right in the ribs.

Trigger grabbed the guy's arm quickly and twisted it behind his back. The guy yelled in pain before headbutting Trigger, causing him to let go.

The guy pulled out a shank and before he could stab Trigger with it, two guards got between them.

"Alright ladies, break it up", one of the guards said.

"Heh. Alright" Trigger agreed with his hands up.

The guy tried to run up to Trigger but the two guards grabbed him before that could happen.

"¡Te cortaré las pelotas, pedazo de mierda!" the guy screamed at Trigger as he was taken away by the guards.

"Hasta la vista bro" Trigger taunted at the guy as the crowd began to disperse. Bandog walked up to him as he turned around.

"Bandog! Fancy seeing you here!" Trigger snickered.

Bandog rolled his eyes "Cut the crap Trigger. Just what was that about?".

"That fine Aurelian specimen thought I was cheating".

That confirmed Bandog's suspicions "Well did you?".

Trigger rolled up his sleeves to reveal a bunch of cards tapped to his arms. Bandog looked at him bewildered.

Trigger grinned at Bandog's reaction "Ain't I a stinker?".

"Asshole more like" Bandog replied shaking his head.

"Takes one to know one" Trigger stated as he rolled down he sleeves "Luckily that guy was the only one who caught me. I just scammed those suckers out of at least eighty dollars worth of lunch"

That reminded Bandog that he had slept through breakfast and lunch time. His stomach began to growl "Fuck man, I'm starving".

"I gotcha covered" Trigger reached into his pocket and pulled out a candy bar "I'll put it on your tab!".

"Gee thanks" Bandog said as he grabbed the candy bar "Have you seen Full Band?".

"He's in solitary"

"What did that fuck do this time?" Bandog asked as he took a bite out of his candy bar.

"The dumbass thought it was a good idea to tamper with the loudspeaker this morning and mock McKinsey.".

"Stupid..."

"Yep. Anyways, he's been sentenced for 3 days".

"That's too bad. I needed to talk to him".

"What for?".

"Just needed to tell him that he should shut the fuck up".

"I think that's impossible".

"Probably right" Bandog honestly didn't care what Full Band knew. So what? It's, not like he could do anything with it. Besides, It couldn't be _that_ important. Bandog got that stupid government shit out of his mind.

"Ya know Bandog. This time I've ever seen you out on the courtyard" Trigger realized.

"I used to come out here more often. But ever since I became AWACS controller for Spare, fucking McKinsey been's making me write reports and doing analytics. It's bullshit".

"Damn. What happens if you don't do it?"

"Well aside from solitary, McKinsey threatens to lie to the higher ups and have me sent to fucking _Tanamagalo Bay"._

"Holy shit. You mean that place where they torture terrorists?".

"Yep".

"Damn man. You got it bad".

"I as long as I keep my cool, I'm safe" Bandog clenched his first "But shit, it gets harder and harder everyday. Don't be surprised if I'm shipped off in a few days".

"Heh. I can see why your always in a bad mood…"

"I've always been pissed off. But McKinsey sure as hell hasn't helped".

Trigger could tell that Bandog was starting to get angry so he quickly changed the subject "So...how's Tabloid?".

"What about him?".

"You said he was entertaining. Got any stories to tell".

"Eh. Not much" Bandog shrugged "He's a damn anarchist and conspiracy theorist".

"A conspiracy theorist" Trigger laughed and crossed his arms "This I gotta hear. What's he told you?"

Bandog hesitated, he wasn't really in the mood for Trigger's endless questions again "Why the hell are you interested in what that freak has to say?".

"I find to those _'Harling did_ _6/17' _type conspiracy theories to be entertaining. I want a good laugh. Don't leave me hanging".

Bandog finished his candy bar and threw the wrapper on the ground "Fine. Prepare for crazy".

"I'm ready".

"So a few days back during lunch time me and him were talking about that whole Belka shit that happened. You know, the Circum-Pacific War?".

"Yeah. I know about it"

"He told me his theory that Belkan's are the ones that caused almost every major conflict since The Belkan War".

Trigger scratched his "I mean...that kind of makes sense".

"Oh no, I think it makes sense too. It the shit he tried to tell me _after _that made me call bullshit".

"Well let's hear it".

"Ever heard of Nordennavic?".

"Not much really. I just know that they're neutral and Emmeria's bitch".

"Yeah, well this fuck tried to tell me that, apparently, that country pretends to neutral and actually has spies in every country, influence their wars and shit to protect their own asses".

This caused Trigger to burst out laughing "Haha! What the hell?".

"That's not all. He's utterly convinced that countries are on their way out and corporations will take their place".

Trigger just shook his head and laughed some more "That doesn't even make sense".

"That's what I told him. He brushed me off of course. Fucking idiot". Bandog began to walk around a little.

Trigger decided to follow "So what do you think of Avril?".

"Who?"

"You know, Avril. The Scrap-".

"I have no idea who you're talking about".

Trigger stopped walking, causing Bandog to stop. He looked at Trigger confused "What?".

"Well we gotta go meet her!" Trigger exclaimed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Her? The fuck? I thought only men were at this base?"

"Well apparently not. Let's go to the hanger".

"Hell no. That's a long ass walk"

"Come oooon it's not that long!"

"What are you a child? Get the hell out of my face Trigger".

"I'll give you another candy bar…" Trigger said as he pulled out a candy bar.

Bandog's stomach grumbled, reminding him that the first candy bar didn't fill him up. And that dinner wasn't until 9.

Bandog scowled as Trigger dangled that damn candy bar in his face. Bandog finally relented "I fucking hate you Trigger".

"Oh no you don't" Trigger scoffed.

"Ugh".

o-o-o-o-o

"God damn Trigger, ease it on that throttle. Shit".

Avril was currently in a hanger working on Trigger's current plane, an old Mig-29. After she heard about Trigger's performance against that aggressive bandit, she was impressed.

She figured that modifying his plane would be a fun little project to keep herself busy. Plus she guessed Trigger deserved a little reward after what Tabloid had told her.

She had intended for this upgrade to be a quick little tune up, but after seeing just how much Trigger fucked up his own plane, she knew that she was gonna be here awhile.

She didn't _have _to, in fact she tried not to, be she liked working on planes and seeing a messed up one just waiting to be fixed appealed to her.

So she just got to work.

She had been fixing up the plane for almost 2 days now and naturally this messed up her plans. See, she intended to just watch Trigger from afar, fixing up his plane when necessary and listen to his exploits from the other spare members.

But yesterday changed all of that when Trigger decided to stroll on in, right in the middle of her tune up.

The meeting was…interesting to say the least. What caught her off guard was how laid back he was. She expected a cocky-hot head, not what Trigger brought to the table.

Another thing see realized was that Trigger really liked to talk...and was kind of an uncaring ass.

Tabloid told her that Trigger almost never speaks while flying, but on ground? He just talks and talks and talks and talks, it got fucking annoying after a while. He was lucky that he was also entertaining or else she would have kicked him out then and there.

After that Trigger popped in out the rest of the day. The more he came by, the less work she got done. She just hoped he layed off for the rest of the-

"OH AVRIL!"

Oh goddammit.

Avril looked over to the front of the hanger and saw Trigger walking in with a really tall guy. They walked over to her and Trigger took her hand shook it, getting oil all over himself in the process.

"Uh, hey Trigger" Avril greeted as she took her hand back. "So what brings you here. Again. And what happened to your face?".

"I got in a fight. And I wanted you to meet my friend-"

"We're not friends dickhead".

"_Acquaintance_" Trigger said, unfazed.

Bandog and Avril looked at each other awkwardly.

"Uh...hey" Avril greeted.

"Yeah...I'm Bandog" Bandog sort-of greeted.

That caught Avril interest "Wait _your _Bandog".

Bandog narrowed his eyes "_Yes"._

"The guy that commands everyone in Spare?"

"Yes".

"And _your a prisoner?"._

"No I just like to wear fucking prison jumpsuits to make myself feel better" Bandog replied sarcastically.

"Damn, shithead, I was just asking a question" Avril snarled.

"Well don't ask me retarded ass questions".

Avril glared at the guy. She had known this guy for 2 minutes and already hated him. The glared at each other for a few seconds before Trigger directed Bandog to his plane.

"Check it out Bandog. She's pimping out my ride".

"She's probably gonna have to put a carseat in it for the manchild that flies it".

"Fuck you".

"Heh heh"

Bandog walked around the plane and examined it "Hmm. This plane was banged to all hell when we landed. Most of dents have been cleaned up…" Bandog looked over to Avril "You did this all yourself?".

"Hmph. Damn right" Avril said with confidence. "They'll be all gone within a day or two".

"You do some decent work".

"More than decent shit head. Once I modify Trigger's engine, you'll hardly recognize him".

"Well I guess I'll take your fucking word on it".

"Yeah. You fucking will".

Avril put on her welding mask and got back to work on the underside of the plane.

Trigger decided to use his time to look around the hanger. There were parts everywhere. Wings, propellers, glass, engines, bits of metal, anything a tinkerer would want.

"So Avril. They give you all this scrap to work with?" Trigger asked.

"I'm _working" _Avril said, annoyed.

"It's a simple yes or no question dear" Trigger mocked.

Avril sighed "_Yes, _Trigger".

"Cooool".

"Ugh".

Bandog sat down on a barrel and watched Trigger look around the hanger like an idiot.

"Yo Trigger" Avril called out " Make yourself useful and hand me my second blow torch on my desk next to the shit-head.

Bandog flipped her off, not that she could see it or anything, considering she was under a jet. It was just impulse.

Trigger came over, grabbed it and walked over to Avril "Got it chief".

"Put down on the tray next to me. I'm gonna give you my old one. I want you to put in on the desk you got the new one from. And for the love of God, _don't _touch the metal nozzle. It's hot as hell".

Trigger nodded and put the new one down while retrieving the old one. Bandog watched as he walked over to the table to put it down.

But before he did that, Trigger stood there and looked at the blow torch for second. Then, out of nowhere, Trigger took his hand…..and grabbed tightly on to the burning hot nozzle with his bare hands.

Bandog eyes widen at this "Trigger what the fu-"

"ARGGGH!" Trigger yelled as dropped the blow torch.

Avril immediately got from under the jet "Aw shit! What happened!".

Bandog ran to Trigger "Idioft face over here grabbed on to the damn nozzle like his life depended on it".

" You've gotta be shitting me…"

The two of them looked at Trigger's hand. It burning red and some of the skin was broken.

Avril slapped Trigger upside the head "Dumbass! Why the hell did you do that?!".

Trigger rubbed his head "I wanted know if it was hot or not".

Bandog looked like he wanted to scream "She. Fucking. Told. You. Dumbass".

"I wanted to make sure…"

Avril and Bandog looked at Trigger completely dumbfound. Avril just gripped her nose "Argh. This is third time this shit's happened".

Bandog looked at Avril "Third time?" He then looked at Trigger and squeezed his arm "_Fucking third time?!"_

Trigger avoided his glare "I may have messed with Avril tools a couple of times yesterday…".

"Okay that's it" Avril put her hands up "I've had enough of you for today Trigger. Shit-head, take dumbass to the infirmary".

"Fine. Let's go Trigger". Bandog signalled for Trigger to follow him and he did.

Trigger waved goodbye to Avril and they both disappeared. Avril stared at the front of the hanger and just shook her head.

"Dumbass"

o-o-o-o-o

The two managed to make it to the infirmary. Only barely though. Trigger kept whining about his burnt hand and Bandog threatened to make more than just his hand hurt if he didn't stop complaining.

Once they got to the infirmary, the doctor groaned at the sight of Trigger. Something which Bandog found interesting.

"Why you got that look on your face Doc?" Bandog asked.

"This is the fifth time Trigger's been here" the Doctor stated.

"Jesus christ Trigger. How the hell have you not crashed yet?".

"I'm just really lucky" Trigger said with pride. Bandog proceeded to punch him in the arm. "Owww…"

"Shut the fuck up".

The doctor sighed and signalled for Trigger to to sit down on the bed. Before Trigger did that he turned to Bandog and spread open his arms.

"Can I get a bro hug?" Trigger grinned.

"Fuck off. Just do what the doctor said".

Trigger chuckled and walked over to the bed "See ya later B-dog".

"Don't ever call me that" Bandog left the infirmary and went back to the courtyard.

As he walked away he realized something…

"Did...did I just hangout with someone? Shit, maybe _I_ need a doctor".

**o-o-o-o-o**

**And that was chapter 2 everybody hope you enjoyed it.**

**Also I want you guys to go read the AC fanfic Grounded Aces. Seriously, just compare that mature ass Trigger to my Idiot.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for the wait guys, work and writer's block got in the way. Anyways, this chapter's a bit shorter than the previous one, but expect every chapter after this be around 3000 words or so.**

**So yeah, I'm officially making this a full story detailing the events leading up to Faceless Soldier and the end of the game, focusing on Bandog.**

**Let's get started.**

**o-o-o-o-o**

Location: 444 Air Base, Zapland

Time: 2000 July 14, 2019

Bandog was currently in his office typing up reports.

Well, office was what it was _technically_. In reality it was just a maintenance closet with a little desk, a lawn chair, and an old 2007 PC. They made sure to give Bandog the bare minimum required since he was prisoner and that pissed him off.

Case and point: Bandog had been staring at his computer screen for almost 10 minutes now, waiting for his word processor to load. His computer was _agonizingly _slow, even when doing simple tasks like typing.

He had to go through crap like this everyday and could do nothing about it. Everytime he tried to complain to McKinsey, the colonel would threaten him with Tanamagalo Bay. Bandog just had to suck it up and get through it. And it was infuriating.

"For the love of God, just load already!" Bandog groaned. After what felt like an eternity, Word _finally_ opened. "Thank you…"

His "job" was straightforward, just write reports on the various missions he partook in and write up reviews on each member of Spare. He did his job decently enough, though he did half-ass his reports sometimes.

For example his report on the Roca Roja mission literally just said "It went well" and "Trigger did alright". And sometimes when he actually wrote a longer report, he would go out of his way to say the word "fuck" as much as possible:

"_So the fucking mission went fucking well. Fucking Spare squadron did a damn good fucking job killing those little fucking bandits…"_

This was Bandog's form of entertainment, but this of course pissed of McKinsey to no end and resulted in him getting an earful of the Colonel's rage. Bandog didn't care though. McKinsey getting all pissy was entertaining. At least when it didn't result in him getting solitary.

That was how it normally went anyway. The second Bandog walked into the main building, McKinsey yelled in his face. He told him that if he doesn't get a proper report in the next 6 hours, Bandog's ass will be digging ditches at Tanamagalo.

So here Bandog was, actually having to work for once.

"Well, let's get this shit started" Bandog sighed and began to type:

_OPERATION NAME: Two Pairs._

_DATE OF OP: 12 JULY 2019_

_SQUADRON: 444th Fighter Squadron, AKA Spare Squadron._

_REPORT ___

"_Crap. How do I start these things?" _Bandog contemplated.

_The mission was a success. The squadron lead the by Ace pilot known as Wiseman were safely lead out of Vinsly Valley, sustaining zero casualties in the process._

"_Eh. It's decent, maybe I should go a little more in depth..."_

_Spare Squadron successfully destroyed all the enemies radar facilities and anti aircraft weaponry before Wiseman's crew arrived. They managed to overcome the thunderstorm that was raging in the area with light Damage to the aircraft___

That was total bullshit. The planes were wrecked. Dents everywhere, cracked glass, damaged engines, even the radar systems were shot. McKinsey didn't care of course. He _never_ checked the planes to see if they were safe. He'd often ordered Spare members to go on missions despite knowing full well the planes were getting repairs. At least 3 guys died as a result. Jerk.

_Drones began to attack shortly after the Strider Squadron arrived, so Spare assisted. They managed to take them down, with Spare 15 doing most of the work while the others slacked___

Bandog didn't really know why he was giving Trigger that credit. He could've just said Spare took them down and not even mention Trigger, but he did.

_Once they were done, a bandit target known as Mister X entered the battlefield. The dumb-fuck known as Champ ignorantly tried to take him on died as a result._

_Miraculously, Trigger took the bandit head on and managed to survive, protecting the squadron and getting everyone home safely with no casualties_.

"_Miraculously? God I sound like a fucking preacher" _Babdo shook his head and replaced _Miraculously _with _Luckily. _"_Alright, time for squadron review"._

This part was pretty easy, everyone not named Full Band, Tabloid, Trigger, Count or Champ got reviews along the lines of "_This guy got shot down and died" _or "_This guy shot some targets and missed"._

Bandog honestly couldn't even remember the Squadron members names aside from the main Five. It was almost as if they were the main characters or something, well, Trigger at least.

_Champ:_

_Champ had been loud, obnoxious, uncooperative and got what was coming to him. I've said it in my last reports and I'll say it again, Champ was scum._

Bandog was _really_ glad Champ was gone. It was certainly a terrible thought, but he couldn't help it. Champ was annoying as hell. He had it coming for being an idiot.

_Full Band:_

_Full Band has been cooperative. Doesn't complain much, though when he does it can get irritating as shit. He also has a tampering with things he's not supposed to._

Bandog could have gone into more detail on _what _Full Band had, but decided against it. While he didn't really care what happened to Full Band, he didn't want throw a guy under the bus like that.

Despite what he's attitude might imply, Bandog rarely ever tells McKinsey about insubordination. If he did, Champ, Count and probably everyone else would be in solitary 24/7. Bandog never was the one for snitching. Plus he'd have no one to play cards with.

_Tabloid:_

_Never had a problem with him. Simple as that._

Tabloid was surprisingly good at taking orders and following them. Even Bandog will admit that he can be a hardass will being AWACS controller, so it was surprising that someone followed orders so well. Maybe Tabloid had a death wish or something.

_Count:_

_Almost as bad as Champ, almost. This man is constantly lying about his kill count and complains a lot. He's cocky despite having no skill. A terrible leader. His only saving Grace is that he'll follow orders MOST of the time._

Something about Count got under his skin and he couldn't figure out why. Count had this extra layer of sliminess that Bandog found despicable, even though he himself, honestly, was no better.

"God. I'm such a fucking hypocrite" Bandog reached into his pocket and took out some pills and little flask of whiskey. He consumed two pills and took a large gulp of whiskey before succumbing to a fit of coughs. "Urgh".

Bandog grimaced at his work so far. He'd barely wrote anything worth while for any of the members. He just hoped that McKinsey would cut him some slack and just be satisfied that he managed to right more. He looked at his list and realized that he was finally on Trigger.

_Trigger:_

_Since he's been here I've never had a single instance of insubordination from him. He follows orders accordingly, and sometimes goes the extra mile. He tends to making everyone around him look lazy and unprofessional (which they are)._

_He almost never talks while flying and has this strange, tight focus on whatever he's doing that makes him complete objectives with remarkable efficiency. _

_He's easily the most skilled pilot in the penal unit, and unlike Count, this is confirmed by my IFF readings and other squadron members compliments._

_While he's not necessarily cocky, but he is is pretty stupid and is prone to making reckless decisions while in combat. But since this squadron IS expendable, I think Trigger is making the best out of this crappy situation to best of his ability. Plus, the idiot somehow manages to survive, so I believe he's a valuable asset to the team._

_He's not like the usual brand of scum everybody else at this base brings to the-_

Bandog stop writing when he realized how much he wrote on Trigger's entry "Damn. I guess had a lot to say".

He brushed it off and sent his report to McKinsey and got up from his seat to go to the mess hall for dinner. Bandog hadn't eaten all day, so he not going to miss a chance at food. Even if it's crappy.

o-o-o-o-o

As soon as Bandog walked into the Mess Hall he was greeted by a bunch of prisoners huddled around an old CRT. He got a little closer and saw that they were all watching a movie.

"The fuck are you guys watching?" Bandog asked, mildly curious.

One of the prisoners turned his head to answer "Cruel Intentions".

"Never heard of it. Is it any good?"

"No fucking clue" the prisoner grinned. "We're all waiting for the scene where Sarah Michelle Gellar and Cecile Caldwell make-out".

Bandog looked at them with disgust. With no easy access to porn the prisoners used anything they could get their grimy hands on for pleasure. Workout videos, beauty magazines, shoes, you name it.

"You lowlifes make me sick" Bandog shook his head and began to walk away.

"And who are you to get all high and mighty?" The prisoner rolled his eyes "Your just as much of scumbag as the rest of us".

Bandog didn't bother to reply to guy, he knew he was right. He Just didn't want to admit it. You see, Bandog wasn't a prisoner in the _traditional_ sense. Yes, he stuck here like the other convicts, but because he acted as AWACS controller for Spare, slowly over time he was given more and more freedoms. With the eventual pardon if he gave into McKinsey's demands.

This of course led to Bandog acting more important than he actually was. Ya know to make himself feel better, be it mocking the other Spare members, or making empty threats.

Bandog got his food and looked around the mess hall some more until he spotted Count and Trigger at a different table. Bandog tried to convince himself not to go over there and just go outside to smoke and eat. But, to his dismay, he realized he out of cigarettes.

Bandog got cranky when he couldn't have a cigarette.

"Fuck it" Bandog growled as he walked over to Count and Trigger's table. Bandog approached them as Trigger was in the middle of telling a story.

"-and I was all like 'No _your anus!'" , _Trigger explained to a disgusted looking Count.

"...What the hell is wrong with you?" Count grimaced.

"Yeah" Bandog dog announced as he took a seat next to Trigger "What _is _wrong with you".

Trigger grinned "Sup bud! Gimme five" Trigger stupidly held up his bandage hand. Bandog smirked.

"Sure thing" Bandog proceed to smack Trigger's hand as hard as possible, causing the idiot pilot to fall of his seat in pain.

"Argh! Shit, what the hell man!" Trigger exclaimed in pain.

"You set yourself up for it, Dumbass" Bandog told him.

Count nodded in agreement "He's got a point".

"Shut up" Trigger said as he got up.

Count turned his attention to Bandog "Why are you over here?"

"I don't fucking know" Bandog stated.

"Lies".

"Hmph. I was bored".

"See Bandog, you gave a proper answer. Was that so hard?" Count mocked.

"Fuck off" Bandog started down at his tray. He had corn, a boiled egg, some stale bread, and small bowl of soup. "Some fucking dinner".

"Oh man, what I wouldn't give for some Italian food right about now" Trigger said as he laid his head on the table.

"What the hell even is _Italian?" _Count asked openly.

"It's named after Italia Bianchi" Bandog stated as he began to eat his food.

"And that is….?".

"He's a famous Emmerian chef, dipshit. The key is in the name".

Count rolled his eyes "Well sooorry, Mr. Smartass".

Bandog flipped him off and continued to eat. As he ate he noticed out the corner of his eye that Trigger was starting at him. Bandog tried to ignore it, but after five whole minutes, he'd had enough.

"Trigger" Bandog put his utensils down "Why the fuck are you staring at me".

"I wanted to ask you a question" Trigger replied.

"Then why didn't you ask a few minutes ago?".

"You were eating".

Bandog resisted the urge to face palm and just scowled at the pilot "Just ask your fucking question already".

"What's your favorite food".

"What?" Bandog asked confused.

"You favorite food. What is it?".

"Uh, I don't know?".

Trigger sat up "Come on! That's not an answer! What, you're telling me there wasn't something that tickled your taste buds".

Count raised an eyebrow "_Tickle your taste buds?"._

Trigger turned to Count "What's _your _favorite food Count? Mine's Chicken Parmesan".

Count smirked "Lobster. With a some buttered baked potatoes and avocados".

Tigger nodded, satisfied with that answer "You know, I've never actually had lobster before".

"You're missing out man. Lobster is good, especially when you have some mac and cheese as a side dish. That shit fills you up".

"Mmm, Mac and cheese. My sister would make it with some black pepper and steamed broccoli".

"That sounds so good…".

"It was bomb man. Then those double cookies she'd make for desert…"

That caught Count's attention "Double cookies…?"

"Get this okay. What she'd do is make a chocolate chip cookie and stuffed inside of it would be a _fucking Oreo"._

"Oh my God".

"I know!"

Listening to Count and Trigger talk about food made Bandog start to really despise the food in front of him. Trigger looked at him again, and he already knew what the pilot was about to say…

"So what's your favorite food".

Bandog groaned "Trigger, what the fuck did I _just _tell you".

Trigger shook his head "Everyone has a favorite food. Don't bullshit me".

"Why do you want to know so badly?"

"Cause we're friends! Friends share that kind of stuff with each other".

Bandog growled and looked Trigger in the eyes "Listen to me _**you fuck. **_You and and I are _not_ friends. We just know each other and nothing more".

Trigger was unfazed "Then why'd you come over here and sit with us?".

"There were no other places to fucking sit".

"You sure about that?" Trigger motioned Bandog to look around the Mess Hall. Literally 90% of the tables were empty, with most of convicts situated at one table watching that movie. Trigger then gave Bandog a cheeky expression, pissing the AWACS off even more.

Bandog said nothing and tried to go back to eating but Trigger, once again began to ask "So what's your favor-"

"FUCKING SPAGHETTI ALRIGHT?! MOTHERFUCKING **SPAGHETTI!"** Bandog yelled, causing everyone in Mess Hall to look at their table. Count and Trigger chuckled as Bandog started to look unconformable.

Bandog coughed "So...yeah. Spaghetti".

Trigger started to to succumb to a fit of laughter " Bwahaha! Jesus Christ Bandog! It was a simple question!"

"Shut the hell up!" Bandog gritted his teeth. " You were pressuring me!".

"_Sure_ I was Bandog. Sure I was. Saying '_Spaghetti is my favorite food'_ or "_I need time to think about it that" _is _such _a complex answer".

"Hmph".

"Spaghetti is an Emmerian dish right?".

"Oh my god, would you shut the fuck up?"

"That would explain why you like it. I know Emmerian cuisine is some if the best in the world. Right up there with Erusean".

"Ugh".

"Makes sense too since they both start 'E' which is also the first letter in 'Eat'!"

"Trigger have you made it your mission to annoy me forever".

"Hehe maybe…" Trigger reached into his pocket and grabbed something. "Lighten up Bandog. I got something for ya"

Trigger took Bandog's arm and before he could react, Trigger put something in his hand. Bandog looked at it and was stunned. In his hand was a pack of _Marlboro cigarettes_.

"Where the hell did you get these?!" Bandog exclaimed.

"That's _classified" _Trigger joked.

"Very funny douchebag" Bandog immediately took out his match and lit one of the cigarettes. He took a long puff and leaned back in his chair, finally calm. "Thanks for this".

Count gasped "Bandog saying _thanks? _Holy shit, Trigger, I think he needs a doctor!".

Bandog flipped him off once more and continued to to smoke his cigarette while the two of them laughed.

"Oh shit!" one of the prisoners watching the movie yelled. "It's the scene! They're about to makeout!".

Count looked at Trigger "Wanna go watch? Heard it's pretty hot".

"Definitely" Trigger said. Him and Count got up to go watch while Bandog stayed behind.

"Heh" Bandog smirked "Perverts".

o-o-o-o-o

Everybody dispersed out of the mess hall to go back to their cells. Trigger and Bandog were the last to leave and as they left out the door, Trigger tapped on Bandog's shoulder.

"Well, see ya later bud" Trigger told him.

"We're not friends Trigger" Bandog stated again, but more calmly than before.

"Even after I gave you those cigarettes?"

"Yes".

"You suck".

"So I've been told" Bandog chuckled. "I want you to remember something Trigger…"

"What?".

"_I _decide when you die. Remember that the next time you call me your friend".

All that did was make Trigger smile "You and I are gonna be friends one day man. Just you wait".

Bandog smirked "We'll see".

The two then went their separate ways.


	4. Chapter 4

Location: 444 Air Base, Zapland

Time: 0900 July 15, 2019

"Oh Goddammit Trigger!"

Bandog was in the control tower overseeing Spare Squadron's training session. For the most part, everything went smoothly. The planes took off, nothing was malfunctioning, the guys were actually following his orders and no one managed to crash. Yet. And Bandog had a strong feeling who was likely going to bite the dust.

Trigger, in his fantastic judgement, was trying to fly his jet as close and as fast to the ground as possible. Despite the vast majority of his squadmates yelling at him not to, he did it anyway, much to the frustration of Bandog (who was now banging his head on window in front of him).

Bandog sat down in his seat and grabbed a mic so he could talk to the idiot pilot "Spare 15, you dumbass! Fly up!".

Trigger ignored him.

"Trigger!".

Trigger ignored him again and started to do a couple of rolls, mere feet from the ground. The pilot grinned underneath his mask, Trigger loved the sense of speed flying so close ground. Suddenly he arched his plane upward into the air, before diving back down in a series of rolls.

Bandog attempted to get his attention again "Stop with the stunts! Get back in formation or else you'll be cleaning the dumpsters for the next 2 weeks!".

"Heh heh" Trigger chuckled quietly at Bandog's threat, which Bandog heard, pissing him off even more.

Count, Tabloid, and a 11 other Spare members were flying in formation around the base just looking at Trigger's antics and they were all impressed by Trigger's movements. He had pretty remarkable resilience.

"Hm, hey Trigger" Count patched into Trigger comms "Do a few loops, I wanna see if Avril managed to improve the frame on that piece of shit".

"Spare 2, Don't encourage the idiot" Bandog groaned.

"C'mon Bandog, testing a crafts structural integrity is important. We just want to make sure Trigger's safe" Tabloid stated with a smile.

"Bullshit. You guys just want to be entertained".

"We can test an aircraft's limits _and _have fun doing it!" Tabloid exclaimed.

Bandog just shook his head "Whatever, if you guys want the idiot to crash, then so be it".

Count smirked "Thanks Bandog, I knew you'd come around".

"Hmph"

"Yo Trigger, show us what you can do".

Trigger nodded to himself and arched his aircraft a few thousand feet upward. He he began to do a basic loop before twisting his plane around left and right while ascending out of the loop. Suddenly his plane began to come to a crawl and in one quick motion, Trigger's plane flipped backwards before accelerating once more.

On the ground, almost everyone was watching Trigger's insane movements. Naturally, Avril was amongst those watching the display. Once one of the Guards told her what Trigger was doing, she had to see whether or not Trigger was gonna mess up his plane again.

So here she was, standing in the middle of the fake runway watching Trigger pull off stunts. At least it was entertaining.

"_Better not mess that plane up"_ She thought.

Right at that moment, Trigger did another nosedive straight to the ground before barely managing to to lift his aircraft back up before crashing. He ascended once more and stabilized his craft so he could talk.

"Bandog" Trigger said.

"Oh finally talking to me now huh?" Bandog snarked. "What is it?".

"Unlock the FCS".

"What?" Bandog asked confused. " Why the hell do you want me to do that for?".

Count was equally confused "Yeah Trigger, what gives?"

"You'll see" Trigger stated simply.

Everything in Bandog's mind told him not to do this, but eventually, he caved. He began to signal everyone in room to unlock the FCS, which surprised some of the controllers.

"You sure that's a good idea man" one of the controllers asked Bandog, concerned.

"Just fucking do it, they can't target anything. He probably just wants to do a couple of pot shots at the ground"

The controller nodded and unlocked the FCS. Once that happened, Trigger suddenly maneuvered his aircraft a few hundred feet in front of the squadron.

Bandog and the others in the controller tower didn't like what they were seeing, and everybody on the ground started to get confused.

"_Just what are you planning dumbass?"_ Avril crossed her arms.

Tabloid raised a brow "Uh, Trigger? I don't like where this going".

"Bandog. I'm in position" Trigger reported.

"I can see that dumbass. Just what the hell are you up to?".

"Tag me as an enemy".

Everyone who was listening eyes widened at Trigger's request. Some even adjusting their headsets wondering if they had heard him correctly.

After recovering from the initial shock, Bandog yelled into his microphone "Are you fucking insane?! Hell no!".

"C'mon Bandog, don't be a square" Trigger taunted.

"Bandog's right Trigger" Tabloid agreed "What you're asking is stupid as hell. Even for you".

"It'll make things fun".

"_Dying _is _fun? _Guy's I think Trigger has finally lost it".

Trigger chuckled and spoke to Bandog again "Just do it. You said you didn't care if we die".

"Yeah. I did", Bandog hissed "But I'm not just gonna fucking allow someone who's useful to just die for no reason".

"Awww. You said I'm useful" Trigger sang.

"Shut. Up" Bandog fumed.

"Bandog, I won't die"

"How? Your right fucking in front of people who with missiles you idiot!"

"Bandog I have a plan. You just need to trust me".

"No Trigger".

"Please?"

"I said no, you fuck. This is end of the discussion"

"Bawk-Bawk!"

Bandog gritted his teeth "Don't you fucking dare Trigger…"

"Your a chicken! BAWK BAWK BAWK!"

Bandog gripped his desk tighty, getting more and more angry "_Just ignore the dumbass. Just ignore the dumbass. Just ignore the dumbass. Just ignore the dumb-"_

"BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK **BAWK BAWK BAWK BAWK BAAAAWK!".**

"**ARGHHHHHHHHH!" **Bandog screamed and punched the window in front of him, cracking it in the process. "**FINE!"**

Bandog gave an intense glare at the person controlling the IFF, which prompted them to quickly tag Trigger as an enemy. Soon after, every plane currently flying saw Trigger in green with a red "TGT" next to his square.

Count shook his head at this "Alright Trigger, we see you as an enemy. What now?".

Trigger had a huge grin on his face "I want all of you to shoot me at once".

"Dude, this crazy man" one Spare member spoke.

"Trigger, you are going to fucking die!" Another yelled.

Trigger ignores them "Ok on my mark. One!..."

"This is gonna suck" Count remarked.

"Two!"

"Oh my god he's serious" another member said.

Three!

"Get ready to clean up a dead pilot" Bandog said to his peers.

"FIRE!".

One that cue, all 14 of the jets fired a missile directly at Trigger, causing everyone on the ground to go into a panic. The entire crowd began yelling at screaming at what they were seeing.

"What the fuck?!"

"Is everyone mad at Trigger or something?!

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit!"

Avril eyes widened at this display "Just what the hell are you doing dumbass?!"

Every single missile headed for Trigger at a breakneck speed, while Trigger himself slowed his are craft to a crawl.

"What the hell?! Dumbass, you're gonna stall!" Avril yelled, despite knowing Trigger couldn't hear her "Is this fucker suicidal?!".

The missile came closer, and closer and in one swift move, Trigger's aircaft flipped over like a dime….

...dodging every single missile in the process.

Everybody watching was astonished at what they just saw as Trigger flew upside down fast, right over the squadron that just fired at him. With his craft still upside down, Trigger flew and turned around right over Count and looked down at his cockpit. Count looked up at Trigger with wide eyes as the idiot pilot gave him friendly wave.

The crowd below was speechless.

Avrils mouth was wide open "Son of a…"

Everybody in the control Tower gasped in relief. It took a little while before Bandog could process what he saw. Once he did though, he got back on the microphone "Spare Squadron. Training session over. Make your landing check".

o-o-o-o-o

Trigger was final one to land after the training session was over. His Mig-29 came into view, and he successfully landed on to the runway (which caused Bandog to lose another bet).

A small crowd formed around Trigger's land spot. Trigger opened his cockpit and as soon as he jumped out and landed on the ground, he was met with a hard slap to the face, courtesy of Avril.

He was grabbed by the collar if his flight suit and was brought face to face with a pissed of Avril Mead.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG YOU!?" She screamed in his face.

"Eh, Nothing really. I feel fine" Trigger replied dumbly, earning him another slap to the face "Ow!".

Avril looked even more frustrated "You could have died dumbass! And my plane could have blown up".

Trigger smiled at her "But it didn't. And I didn't die" he was then thrown to the ground and got kicked in the thigh "Ow! Jeez Avril, why are you always hitting me?".

Bandog walked through the crowd and towards Avril, shoving her out of the way to approach Trigger.

"Watch it shithead" Avril sneered.

Bandog flipped her off and began speaking to Trigger "That was quite the stunt you pulled idiot".

Trigger got up and dusted himself off "Wasn't that awesome?".

Bandog smacked Trigger in the back of the head "No. It wasn't awesome dumbass. You almost wasted a perfectly good plane".

"I was just having some fun…" Trigger pouted as he rubbed the back off his head.

Bandog glared at him "You were having _fun _on my time. Don't you _ever _wasted my fucking time. Whenever you fuckers disobey orders, McKinsey always gets on my ass. Don't do that shit again. You hear me?".

"Crystal" Trigger gave a thumbs up. "Just admit that you thought what I did was awesome. C'mon, don't deny it".

"I'm fucking denying it" Bandog would never admit to Trigger that he thought anything he did was cool. And yes, Bandog thought what Trigger did was awesome, and no, he was not going to admit it anytime soon.

Count and Tabloid soon got in the conversation, with Tabloid grabbing Trigger's shoulders "Trigger man, that was incredible! How the hell did you do that?"

"Oh I just did post stall maneuver, or a cobra...whatever you wanna call it" Trigger shrugged.

"Shit man you gotta teach me how to do that!".

"Oh it's simple! You just gotta take your controller, slow down to around 150mph, slam down the left and right triggers, release the left trigger while holding down right, then move your plane up using the left thumbstick".

Tabloid just looked at Trigger with a blank expression, causing the pilot to laugh.

Trigger patted Tabloid on the back "Ha! Your face! I'll teach you how to do it some other time. It's pretty complex".

"It can't be that hard" Count butted in. "I could pull that off easily once I learn it"

Bandog snorted at that, causing Count to glare at him "What? You don't think I can do it?".

"Not _think_ moron. I _know _you can't do it" Bandog pulled out a cigarette "Of course your lying ass would say anything to satisfy your own ego".

"Hey fuck you!".

"See Trigger? I told you he was into dudes".

Count looked pissed and tried to march up to Bandog, but Trigger got in between them "Woah Count chill out. You know how Bandog is".

"Doesn't mean I have to accept it".

"I've accepted it".

"That's because your a fucking teacher's pet".

"An _unbehaved _teacher's pet".

Bandog chuckled at Trigger's words until a guard showed up telling them to get off the runway and for the planes to go back to their hangers. Trigger and the other pilots got back in their planes to put them away, while everyone else went back to the courtyard or anyplace else they were supposed to be.

Trigger waved at Bandog before closing his cockpit, which caused the AWACS to wave back slightly before quickly put his hand back down, much to the amusement of the pilot.

o-o-o-o-o

The day had already been eventful with that stressful training session dominating the entire morning. Because of that, the rest of day seemed rather dull as it went on. The prisoners and guards did what they normally did: chatted amongst themselves, played games, gambled…

Gambling.

Oh how Bandog loved gambling.

He was currently in courtyard, in the middle of a really good game of poker and it was just him and one other guy. Before he died, it was usually High Roller and someone else that made it to the very end, with him winning around 90% of the games he participated in.

Now, it was very likely that High Roller was cheating, but nobody had any proof, and since he was dead, nobody would get any.

While Bandog would never admit it, he really missed High Roller. They surprisingly got along pretty good, and they always had a great time gambling together despite Bandog losing most of time.

The guy in front of Bandog revealed his cards, and Bandog knew, once again, that he lost. They both did the typical money exchange and went on their separate ways. Honestly Bandog didn't know why he gambled so frequently. He was awful at card games, in fact, it was a miracle that he even made it that far.

Bandog went back to his "office" and shut the door. He pulled a large bottle of whiskey, a plastic cup, and began to drink. After taking some painkillers he proceeded to drink and drink and drink until he eventually passed out on his desk.

He eventually woke up several hours later with a stinging pain on his face and arms. He sat up and saw his desk was covered in blood and glass shards. He deduced that while he was sleeping the bottle of whiskey had fallen on top of him, as evidence by the fact that he clothes reeked of whiskey and were wet.

"Eh. McKinsey's gonna have my ass.." Bandog grimaced. This wouldn't be the only time a situation like this happened. Bandog has spilled or broken glass of whiskey many times before, some by accident, others intentional. He had a bad habit of throwing whiskey bottles at the wall in front of him, and due to his office being a small closet, the shards would ricochet back at him. Bandog rarely tried to dodge them, so this resulted in him get a bunch of cuts all over his body.

Not that he minded. It gave him an excuse to consume more painkillers.

Something he did quickly after cleaning up the mess in his office. He soon left his office and slowly made his way to the infirmary. As soon as he walk through the door he was met with the doctor shaking his head in disappointment.

"Ta fuck are you lookin' at me like for,... that…" Bandog slurred, still very drunk. The doctor grabbed him by the arms and sat him in the chair.

The doctor sat down in front of him and sighed "Kevin…"

"Don you fuckin' call me dat!"

"_Bandog. _Why do we always have to go through this, month after month, week after week…"

Bandog stayed silent so the doctor continued "Look at yourself. Your clothes are wet, you're bleeding all over the place, you reek of…_*whiff whiff*, _Whiskey? How the hell did get whiskey?".

"Heh heh heh" Bandog chuckles and grins "Thats…*_belch_*...c-classified".

"Let me ask you something Bandog…"

"What?".

"What's my name".

"Uhh…"

"You don't remember".

"Shut the...fuck up...I remember…..uh..".

"I'm waiting".

"Uh...Michael?"

"It's James, Bandog. James".

James shook his head, and it pissed Bandog off, causing him to get defensive "Well how was a I supposed to remember it? Huh? I've only known you for like...a week?"

"Bandog. We've known each other for 3 years" James stated. It was true. James had been in charge of the infirmary back at Fort Jackson in Northern Osea, where Bandog was stationed before getting arrested and sent to 444th. Bandog was a regular patient due to his drinking problem, that only seem to get worse over time. In fact, it was his drinking that caused him to stab his superior, the _only _reason. Bandog tries to justify the stabbing with how the superior insulted his mother, but no, it was all drunken rage.

The only reason James was transferred to the 444th was because he was one out the few doctors willing to serve a penal unit. He also knew Bandog was one of the prisoners. So he wanted to see how the former AWCAS was doing, and was met with nothing but disappointment.

Bandog scratched his chin "Shit. It's been that long…"

"Yes. It has" James sighed. He reached into a drawer and got out some cotton swabs and a bottle of alcohol. "Hold still".

James dabbed Bandog's cuts a little before patching him up with a series bandages and band-aids. He then took out a fresh set of prisoner garbs and handed them to Bandog.

"Thanks" Bandog said quietly.

"Don't mention it" James replied.

Bandog reached into his pocket to take some more painkillers but was dismayed to find that his bottle was empty. He looked up at James "I need some mor-".

"No"

"_What?"._

"You're not getting any kre pain pills from me".

"Why not?!".

"You have an addiction".

"No I don-"

"_Yes _you do".

Bandog stood up angrily and clenched his fist "I've been taking only to amount you fucking prescribed to me!".

"Bandog. I know you've been stealing my pain pills".

Bandog started to look nervous "No I haven't".

"Oh really? Because a guard told me he found 17 bottles of empty pain pills in your pillow case".

"How the hell….?"

"McKinsey had the guards do a surprise sweep of everyone's cells while they were outside one day".

Bandog stared at the ground. He stood there for a while before he slowly began to walk out the infirmary.

James stared at Bandog before he left "Do you want to talk?".

"Go fuck yourself" Bandog said before leaving the infirmary.

"Can't say I didn't expect that.." James sighed and went book to doing paperwork. James and Bandog did this game hundreds of times. James would call Bandog out, Bandog would be in denial and refuse to accept responsibility. It's been like this for years and James doesn't know why he still expects Bandog to change.

To be fair, James had given up on him in a few areas. For starters he knew Bandog would remain an alcoholic forever. Hell, the day he met Bandog, he was hit a strong vodka smell.

James remembers that day like it was yesterday. Bandog came into his office with a black eye and blood dripping down his forehead. He apparently got into a fight and got messed up pretty badly. He decided that drinking would be the best thing he could do and got chewed out by one of his superiors.

Bandog walked in, they talked, he got patched up and left. It was a simple meeting. Something James could, and probably should, have forgotten. Be he didn't. James saw the broken man that was Bandog immediately when he walked through the door that day.

Most of the prisoners didn't know how bad a Bandog truly was and it surprised James. The lengths that man would go to keep his problems a secret from most people was rather astounding. James just wished that Bandog would use that same amount of effort in improving his own life, rather than using it to hide his bad one.

Perhaps it is a foolish wish, but James still has faith. He knows that another person does as well.

_2 days earlier_

_James was typing along on his computer when he spotted Bandog along with the pilot he had treated 4 times before. James couldn't help but groan at the sight of Trigger._

"_Why you got that look on your face Doc?" Bandog asked._

_"This is the fifth time Trigger's been here" James stated._

_"Jesus christ Trigger. How the hell have you not crashed yet?"._

_"I'm just really lucky" Trigger said with pride. Bandog proceeded to punch him in the arm. "Owww…"_

_"Shut the fuck up"._

_James sighed and signalled for Trigger to sit down on the bed. Before Trigger did that he turned to Bandog and spread open his arms._

_"Can I get a bro hug?" Trigger grinned._

_"Fuck off. Just do what the doctor said"._

_Trigger chuckled and walked over to the bed "See ya later B-dog"._

_"Don't ever call me that" Bandog said and left the infirmary. James noticed that Bandog wasn't as angry as he usually was, which surprised him. He hadn't seen him like that in long time._

_James put his attention back on Trigger "Hold out your hand"_

"_Sure thing Doc" Trigger compiled and put out his burning hand._

"_Just what did you do Trigger?"._

"_I grabbed a hot blow torch nozzle"_

_James decided it was best not to ask why, as he suspected that the pilot did it on purpose. Why anyone would do something so stupid would be anyone's guess, and James was in no hurry to find out._

_James applied some cream to Trigger's hand and began to wrap it in Bandages. As this was happening, Trigger decided to strike up a conversation "So how do you like being a doctor?"_

"_I like it. Helping people has always been a important to me" James replied a he finished applying the first layer of bandages "Although I will admit, having to treat the same person over and over again can get a bit annoying…"_

_Trigger knew what the doctor was getting at and scratch the back of his head with his free arm "Heh. Sorry about that"._

"_Just be more careful. Alright?"._

_Trigger nodded and James began to apply the second layer of bandages. As he'd did, he asked a question that had been nagging him as soon as Trigger walked in "So why did Bandog escort you in here"._

"_He Just wanted to make sure I got here safely" Trigger replied._

_James raised an eyebrow at this "That seems awfully out of character for him…"_

"_Yeah it does. But we're friends"._

_That made James look at Trigger like he was crazy "Trigger I think you may have been misinterpreting Bandog's intentions. He's not the friend type"._

"_Sure he is! He just doesn't know it yet"._

"Is this man naive or just not bright?" _James thought to himself._

"_So...why do you think that?" James asked._

"_I truly believe that Bandog has the capability to be a good person and genuine friend if he's treated nice enough" Trigger explained._

"_Trigger don't take this the wrong way, but, I think that's an incredibly naive view point to have on someone like Bandog"._

"_How so?"._

"_Trust me Trigger. I've known Bandog for 3 years, and he's been like this from day one"_

"_People can change"._

"_While I do agree with you, I do not think that's possible for someone like Bandog"._

_James finished applying Trigger's bandages and the pilot stood up with a confident look on his face 'It's totally possible. The reason Bandog acts the way he does is because he has no one he can truly trust. No real friend, someone he talk to, someone one that won't judge him. I wanna be that guy"._

"_May I ask why you want to be that person?"_

_Trigger's face took on a more serious look "A few nights ago me and Bandog were talking and I came to realize the Bandog was the realest person on this base. He got me, and I understood him. He's not like the other guys here. He's... different"._

_James sat down and leaned back "It's going to be hard Trigger. Bandog has many walls protecting him from connecting with others. Tearing through them all may be impossible…"._

"_Which is why I'm not gonna try to go through them all. I want him to trust me. If he doesn't want to reveal certain things to me, that fine. It's his choice"._

_Trigger began to walk out, but before he did, James asked one final question "And what if you fail?"_

_Trigger turned a gave James a determined look_

"_I won't"._

_Trigger left the room with confidence radiating from him. James was left alone again. He leaned his chair back again and looked at the ceiling with a smirk on his face._

"_We'll see Trigger. We will see…"_


	5. Chapter 5

Full Band slammed his tray on the table in front of him and greeted at his squadmates with a smug look "Miss me?".

Tabloid, and Count ignored him and focused on their breakfast.

Full Band narrowed his eyes and sat down "What the hell guys? I thought you'd be glad to see me after being gone for 3 days!".

"To be honest, I barely realized you were gone" Count admitted causally. Tabloid nodded his head in agreement causing Full Band to roll his eyes and take a, rather large, bite out of his bagel.

"So anything interesting happen while I was locked up?" Full Band asked.

Count shrugged "Nothing really".

Tabloid shook his head "Actually, Trigger did some cool things yesterday…"

"What do mean?" Full Band asked, now curious.

"Trigger did something stupid again. Don't worry about it" Count stated, getting agitated. Tabloid noticed this and smirked.

"Getting a little defensive there. You jealous?"

"Shut up. Like I said before, I could have done that easily. I have nothing to be jealous about".

"Hm. If you say so" Tabloid grinned. Full Band just stared at the the of them as they continued to eat there food.

"Sooo...are you guys gonna tell me or….?" Full Band pressed on.

Tabloid hit Count on the shoulder "Well then, go on. Tell Full Band what happened. Should be easy, course you're totally not jealous".

Count glared at him but eventually spilled the beans "Trigger had half the squadron fire missiles at him, then he performed a PSM".

That surprised Full Band "Damn. Never realized Trigger was that skilled".

"So. I've done it before. It's not hard".

Tabloid began patting Count on the shoulder "I'm sure it's easy bud. You'll have to show us sometime".

Count swatted his hand off and went back to eating. Full Band chuckled and directed his attention back to Tabloid "That Trigger must have a death wish".

Tabloid nodded his head in agreement and Full Band looked around the mess hall "So where is that idiot anyways".

"He's over at the hangars with Avril and Bandog" Tabloid replied.

"What the hell is Bandog doing over there?"

Tabloid shrugged "I dunno, overseeing maintenance?"

"Since when does Bandog care about the condition of our planes?".

Tabloid shrugged again and the group began to each their food in silence.

o-o-o-o-o

Avril couldn't catch a break.

Not only was she running low on parts the fix the planes, but Trigger's stunt yesterday caused some serious stress on the frame of his MiG-29. Now she had to fix the cracks or else Trigger's plane would fall apart like glass. And fixing his plane was delaying her fixing up the _other _planes.

So as you may imagine, Avril was not very happy with the idiot pilot.

Trigger was last person she wanted to see today, but fate was always against her, and guess who was currently laying atop the plane she was next to trying to fix…

"Avril, your not gonna believe e this" Trigger started as he laid across his MiG. "I was napping in my cell the other day, dreaming about a pancake, when suddenly I hear this where tapping noise coming from under my bed frame. It was a quiet, but definitely noticeable. So I look under my bed and see this giant ass hairy wolf spider tapping the metal frame. It was so fucking nasty! It's legs were moving all over the place, it was kind crushed so slime was everywhere, and I think there was also eggs as well. It took me a good hour the kill the thing and clean my cell! Then I tried to ask the guards if they could disinfect my sheets for me because some slim got them but they said no so I had to complain to Bandog who proceed to to tell me to shut the fuck up then I got mad and started to talk to prisoners about this back proble-"

"TRIGGER!" Avril yelled, stopping Trigger dead in his tracks. Bandog was sitting on a barrel off to the side, highly amused at the scene he was witnessing.

Trigger scratched his head "What?".

Avril pinched her nose and sighed "Dumbass. Please. Shut the hell up".

"Oh" Trigger scratched his arm "Heh heh, sorry about that. I can get really talkative".

Avril glared at him "_I know"._

"Are you still mad at me?".

Trigger quickly dodged a bucket that was thrown at him by the girl, shattering a mirror in the back of the hangar.

He looked down back at Avril "So yes?".

Avril's glare hardened and she went back to work. Trigger leaned back on his plane and sighed looking sad. These actions caused Bandog to snort in disgust. He got got his barrel and walked up to Trigger.

"Don't act like you don't deserve being mad at, dumbfuck" Bandog sneered.

"I was just having some fun!"

"My god Trigger, shut the hell up. You were just trying to show off and you fucked things up".

"Pftt, you know I looked cool. Don't deny it" Trigger sat up and looked back at Avril "I know you did too Avril, c'mon, admit it". The mechanic flipped him off and went back to working. Trigger looked back at Bandog "See Avril thought it was cool".

"Fuck you Trigger".

Trigger rolled his eyes and hopped to the ground "What do you guys want me to say, that I'm sorry?".

Avril and Bandog just looked at Trigger with faces full of disappointment.

"Ugh. Fine" Tigger walked up to Avril and spread his arms out. "I'm sorry".

"I'm not hugging you Trigger, fuck off" Avril said as Trigger advanced closer.

"Do you forgive me?"

"Hell no".

"Well then there's no stopping this" Trigger grabbed Avril and pulled her into a bear hug.

"What the hell?! Let go dumbass!"

"Forgive me, then _maybe_ I'll consider it".

"I'm serious Trigger, if you don't let go you gonna regret it!" Avril yelled as she tried to pry Trigger from her. All this managed to do was tightened his death hug, causing Avril to realize that Trigger was a damn Air Force pilot. So he was pretty damn strong.

"Forgiiiive meeeee…."

"Fine! Fine! I forgive you! Just let me go!"

Trigger immediately released her causing him to get a swift fist to the face. He took it in stride and grinned "See was that so hard? I'll even help fix the plane. Ya know, to really regain your friendship".

"We're not friends".

"We will be after I help you fix the plane".

Avril shook her head and leaned on the plane "Do you even know a thing about fixing planes?"

"Eh, how hard can be? I know a everything on on how plane works. I _do _have a Bachelor's Degree in Aviation after all"

"I don't know…"

"All I gotta do is follow your instructions and things should be fine" Trigger grabbed Avril's toolbox enthusiastically and brought up to his face, "Let's get started!"

Bandog lit another cigarette and sat back down "This should be good".

Avril glared at Bandog and crossed her arms "Hey Shithead, how about you stop lazing around and make yourself useful for a change".

"Fuck off, I'm perfectly content at watching the dumbass over here screw up again. It's entertaining".

"Ah c'mon Bandog!" Trigger yelled. "It'll be a fun! And it'll be a great bonding experience for the two of you".

Bandog face twisted in disgust "That sounds horrible".

"I agree with the shithead, dumbass" Avril stated, and turned around to get back to work.

"You guys aren't even gonna try?! " Trigger exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Trigger, use your tiny brain and think for sec" Bandog grunted. "Why on Earth would I want to bond with that bitch?"

Avril scowled at him "Go to hell shithead".

Bandog gave her a mock salute "Alright, see ya there".

Avril flipped him off and attempted to get back to work but Trigger stopped her and grabbed her arm. he proceeded to guide her over to Bandog and and grabbed his arm as well.

"What the fuck? Get the off me!" barked Bandog (heh), as he tried to pry Trigger off him. "Jesus Christ, what the hell do you eat?"

"I want you two to work together on this" Trigger stated simply.

"NO!" yelled Avril and Bandog.

"Yes".

The two tried to pull away in opposite directions, but they were no match for Trigger death grip. After a good few minutes of protesting, the two of them realized that Trigger wasn't going to let them go until they worked together.

"Fine Trigger" Avril sighed. "You win, I'll work with the asshole".

Trigger looked pleased and turned to Bandog, waiting for his answer.

Bandog huffed and looked away "Sure, whatever".

Trigger grinned "Perfect! Let's get this shit started!"

Trigger released the two and pushed them both towards the plane "Alright Av, tell us what to do".

"Sure…" Avril dusted herself off. "Well first we need to take care of the cracks in the frame. To do that will the limited supplies means we'll have to weld them shut".

"So we need a the blowtorch…" Bandog grimaced.

"I'll get it" Trigger exclaimed, but Bandog stopped him.

"I don't trust you around blowtorches. Not after what happened last time"

Trigger swatted his hand off "Pffft, that shit won't happen again. I know better now"

Bandog rolled his eyes "If you say so".

Avril and Bandog examined the plane while Trigger search for the blowtorch. Not even a minute had passed before they heard Trigger yelp in pain and a loud crash. The two ran over to him and saw him gripping his finger in pain.

"Son of bitch Trigger…" Bandog facepalmed.

"Woah, woah, it's cool. It was only my finger this time!" Trigger held up his slightly red finger in confirmation then handed Avril the blowtorch.

"Thanks dumbass. Let's hurry and get to work. I don't have all day" Avril sighed.

Bandog snorted at that "Like you have better shit to do"

"Shut the hell up!"

o-o-o-o-o

The trio had been working on the plane for around 2 hours and it was going surprisingly smoothly. They had nearly closed all the cracks in the frame, Avril and Bandog were playing nice (except for one Avril yelled at him for a accidentally burping in her face and the two argued about for thirty minutes), and Trigger haven't managed to break anything. All in all, it was going well….

Until…

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST DO SHITHEAD?!" Avril screamed in Bandog's face.

Bandog looked annoyed "What?".

Avril grabbed him by the shirt and forced him to look at the cockpit

"You got fucking beer all over the electronics! Half the shit won't even turn on!"

It was true. Lately, Bandog had been carrying around a flask full of beer he'd stolen from Mckinsey's office. He'd forgotten to put the cap back on before putting it back in his pocket, and while he was tightening the bolts on the canopy, it spilled out of his pocket and damaged the cockpit.

Bandog looked annoyed "So what? Just fix it'.

"Oh yeeeah, _Just fix it" _Avril said with as much sarcasm as she cou muster. "Do you have any idea how much that shit cost?!".

"No. But I'm assuming it's pretty expensive since your yelling at me about it".

"Argh! Would you take shit seriously for a change?!".

"I would If I didn't have some bitch nagging at me!"

"Maybe if you stopped being a complete shithead and payed attention to what your doing I wouldn't have to!".

"How about _you _stop being such a cunt piece of shit and just let me do my work!"

Before Avril could slap Bandog, Trigger jumped in at the last second and took the blow, falling to the ground in the process.

Bandog looked down at him with a blank expression '"Thanks idiot".

Trigger shook his head to recompose hinself "Don't mention it". Trigger stood back up and turned to Avril "Don't worry about it Avril. It just got wet, it'll probably dry itself out".

"Trigger. It's fucking alcohol. Pretty sure that shit ruins tech".

Trigger dismissed her "Nah, it'll be fine. Trust me".

"Trigger I don't thin-"

"Nah, nah, it's cool".

"But-"

"Nah".

Avril realized it was pointless to try to argue with Trigger and rolled her eyes. She decided to go work on the nozzles to pass the time. Bandog and Trigger decided to take a break and situated themselves in a corner.

Several straight minutes of silence rang through the hangar before Bandog suddenly asked Trigger a question "You ever dated before?"

The question surprised Trigger. He never thought Bandog was interested in talking about relationships. Especially considering last time.

Trigger shrugged and responded "Yeah a little bit. Haven't dated since high school. Just sort of stopped after freshman year".

"Well why's that?"

"Eh, I just stopped being interested in girls.."

"I get it. You wanted to experiment with guys. Makes sense".

Trigger stuck his tough out "Fuck you".

"Pay me first" Bandog did a fake cough "_Queer_".

"What? You a homophobe?".

"You asking is just confirming my suspicions"

"Fuck you again".

"Still waiting for my money".

Bandog lit another cigarette "So what made you not interested in chicks anymore? Someone break your heart?"

"Nah it was more of gradual thing. I was a huge loner in high school. Had no friends, and really no desire to be around people in general".

"You still like that?".

"A bit. I mingle a bit more, but I like to keep my friend groups small". Trigger sat against a well and stared at the ceiling "Never really had many friends to be honest. Even the ones I _did _have, I never hung out with. I forgot about them quickly".

Bandog looked at Trigger silently.

"_Reminds me a bit of myself" _He thought.

Trigger continued "Things didn't really change either when I joined the OADF. Back in basic, I had trouble getting along with others. My unwillingness to cooperate got me in trouble several times. Almost got kicked out, hell, I even thought about quitting".

"Shit man…"

"A couple years later I signed up for IUN Peacekeeping force. The decision was rather abrupt. Once I heard that their wasn't as many people around in the Usean bases, I jumped at the chance".

"I'm assuming you like to fly solo".

"Damn right. It's the primary reason I hate two seater jets" Trigger chuckled.

"Did you make any friends at all? It be pretty difficulty to function in squadron if not".

"I mean, I got along with everybody fine. I just never made what you would consider _friends_. To me they were my comrades, nothing more, nothing less".

"I get where you're coming from. When I was a regular grunt, my personal motto was 'While I may fucking hate you, I'd fucking die for you….you bastard".

The two laughed loudly as Avril listened on in private. This was the most she ever learned about Trigger in the span of a few minutes. During the times Trigger invaded her hanger, she'd tried to get to know him but he was surprisingly closed of for someone so cheerful…

The laugh calmed down into low chuckles before Trigger continued "I honestly forgot most of those guys back at Fort Gray's names. What was my wingman's name again? Cloud? Clock? Clue? I'm bad with names".

Damn right he was. Bandog recalled when the two first met in person, Trigger called him Bad Dog for like a week.

"I also called Avril, Anvil when I first met her" Trigger grinned. "How ya doing back there Anvil!"

"Screw you!" she yelled.

"Excellente" Trigger said as he leaned back. "There was also this chick named Brownie that I sort of new, but she died".

"What happened?"

"During our confrontation with the Arsenal Bird she and her wingman tried to escape but got shot down by a bandit".

"Dang. That sucks".

"Yeah, it was pretty sad. She was a nice girl...I think? I never talked to her much".

"You never know. Perhaps she's still alive. Maybe in POW camp or someshit" Bandog suggested

"Nah, she's dead".

"You seem certain…"

"We found the wreckage a day later. Found the body too".

"Yikes".

"I know. The pictures were so damn gross" Trigger chuckled at the thought.

Bandog raised a brow "You seem pretty apathetic about it".

"I think I might be a sociopath, though I'm not to sure. I mean, it's not like I didn't feel _anything _when she died. I felt sad in the moment, but got over it fast. Within seconds actually".

"You intrigue me Trigger. You really honestly do".

"Heh. I guess I'm flattered".

"So you ever gonna get back into the dating game?"

"Hell no, I hate romance".

For some reason Avril twitched at that. She shook her head and walked over to the two of them awkwardly "So, uh, you guys ready to get back to work or….?".

"Sure" Trigger said simply.

Bandog said nothing but nodded in agreement and the three went back to working together.

o-o-o-o-o

It took almost 6 hours, but they finally finished. The plane looked like complete ass, but it was finally flyable again, and that was most important.

After a bunch of stuff breaking, Avril nagging the hell out of Bandog and Trigger just plain goofing off, they managed to do it.

Avril admired their craft with appreciation that the two didn't screw up. Trigger gave her pat on the back.

"Well that looks like a damn good job well done!" Trigger exclaimed in glee.

"Agreed. Didn't know you had it in you, dumbass" Avril smirked.

"Pfft, I'm great and you knew it all along. Ain't that right B-Dog! Up top!" Trigger raised his hand to Bandog for a High-five, but Bandog gently pushed his hand down.

"I'm good man, thanks. And don't call me that" Bandog said as he turned to exit the Hangar.

"Don't be like that man. Didn't you have fun?".

Bandog stopped and looked over his should "A bit".

"HA! I knew it!".

Avril looked at Bandog curiously "Why'd you come to the hanger in the first place? Seems out of character".

"I was bored" Bandog shrugged.

"Lies" Trigger said immediately. "You just wanted to hangout with your best friend"

Bandog flipped him off and walked away, leaving Trigger and Avril alone in the Hanger. Trigger prepared to leave as well, but Avril stopped him.

"Hey I overheard you and the shithead talking in the corner earlier " She said to him.

Trigger face turned neutral "Yeah. And?"

"I just wanted to say if you need anyone to talk to and shit. Well...I'm here".

"Sure whatever" Trigger said dismissively and quickly walked out the hanger. Avril sighed and walked back to the plane, somewhat glad to be in peace again.

"It was kinda fun…"

**o-o-o-o-o**

**I'm back guys! Sorry for the long break. Writer's block sucks (still haven't gotten over it for my last fic though. I'll get to it eventually).**

**Anyway's I wanted to try out a new combination of characters in the form of Trigger, Avril, and Bandog. I thought it be entertaining to see them all interact.**

**I also wanted to bring up Brownie in this chapter cause I noticed a trend that people like to have her survive and/or Trigger have feelings for her or something. Screw that, she ded. Another thing is I wanted to delve into Trigger's psyche a little and show that my interpretation is a little unhinged and apathetic, while subtly hinting that Trigger may not be so happy-go-lucky as he lets on. Again, a different interpretation of most.**

**I hope y'all enjoyed.**


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